Born in West Orange, New Jersey, Michael Pitt is the youngest of four children. At age 10, he announced to his parents that he wished to become an actor. He moved to New York City from New Jersey when he was 16 years old, where he took a job as a bike messenger and lived in a one-bedroom apartment with nine other guys. In 1999, Pitt made his off-Broadway debut in the play "The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek" at the New York Theatre Workshop. There, a casting agent spotted him and recommended him for a role on Dawson's Creek.